New to Thompson 16e:

• Total Case Update: The 16th edition provides 31 cases of which 28 are newly-written, diverse, timely, and thoughtfully-crafted cases. The 3 cases that were carried over are timeless classics that teach so exceptionally well that including them again made perfect sense: Robin Hood case, Dilemma at Devil’s Den and Smithfield Foods.
• Unparalleled Case Lineup: The case lineup provided with this text is unmatched in its diversity, timeliness, and selection of thoughtfully-crafted cases.
• Diversity in the length of cases: Close to a fourth are under 15 pages, yet offer plenty for students to chew on; about a fourth are medium-length cases; and the remainder are detail-rich cases that call for more sweeping analysis.
• Diversity in selection of Company Size/Industry/Origin: 2 “dot-com” and 2 cases involving companies with big online operations, thus giving students ample opportunity to wrestle with e-commerce strategy issues. 5 cases are dealing with the strategic problems of family-owned or relatively small entrepreneurial businesses. 22 cases involving public companies about which students can do further research on the Internet. Scattered throughout the lineup are 13 cases concerning non-U.S. companies, globally competitive industries, and/or cross-cultural situations; these cases, in conjunction with the globalized content of the text chapters, provide abundant material for linking the study of strategic management tightly to the ongoing globalization of the world economy.
• Companies with quick technology developments : At least 8 cases that will provide students with insight into the special demands of competing in industry environments where technological developments are an everyday event, product life cycles are short, and competitive maneuvering among rivals comes fast and furious.
• The lineup includes over 20 cases where company resources and competitive capabilities play as large a role in the strategy-making, strategy-executing scheme of things as industry and competitive conditions.
• At least 25 of the 31 cases involve companies, products, or people that students are familiar with.
• Author written cases: 13 of the 31 cases have been crafted by Art Thompson and/or John Gamble.
• CaseTutor^TM provides analytically-structured exercises for the 11 cases with the Case-TUTOR ^TM logo—these 11 “case preparation exercises” coach students in doing the strategic thinking needed to arrive at solid answers to the assignment questions for that case. Conscientious completion of the case preparation exercises helps students gain quicker command of the concepts and analytical techniques and points them toward doing good strategic analysis. Case-TUTOR ^TM is available as Premium contents on the Student Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/thompson and in the Enhanced Cartridge available for your Blackboard or WebCT course.

Retained Features:

• Solid, mainstream, balanced ▬ The fundamental character that has driven the text’s success over the years is evident throughout the 15th. The chapter content continues to be solidly mainstream and balanced, mirroring both the best academic thinking and the pragmatism of real-world strategic management.
• Focus on Strategy, Ethics, and Social Responsibility ▬ Revitalized by the authors from the 15th still better fulfills the important functions of (1) alerting students to the role and importance of incorporating business ethics and social responsibility into decision-making and (2) addressing the accreditation requirements of the AACSB that business ethics be visibly and thoroughly embedded in the core curriculum. And again, there are discussions of the roles of values and ethics in Chapters 1, 2, 11, and 13, thus providing professors and students alike with a very meaty and comprehensive treatment of business ethics and socially responsible behavior as it applies to crafting and executing company strategies.
• Up-to-date coverage of the continuing march of industries and companies to wider globalization, the growing scope and strategic importance of collaborative alliances, the spread of high-velocity change to more industries and company environments, and how online technology is driving fundamental changes in both strategy and internal operations in companies across the world.
• Integration of the Resource-base view of the firm ▬ The resource-based view of the firm is prominently and comprehensively integrated into the coverage of crafting both single-business and multi-business strategies. Chapters 3 through 9 emphasize that a company’s strategy must be matched both to its external market circumstances and to its internal resources and competitive capabilities. Then, chapters 11, 12, and 13 on various aspects of executing strategy have a strong resource-based perspective that makes it unequivocally clear how and why the tasks of assembling intellectual capital and building core competencies and competitive capabilities are absolutely critical to successful strategy execution and operating excellence.
• Extensive End-of-Chapter Exercises ▬In response to market feedback, more chapter-end exercises have been included once again, and e xercises are still more varied in format (rather than just internet searches), more detailed, and more closely aligned with chapter content.
• Unparalleled resource package ▬ The comprehensive package of support materials is a breeze to use, highly effective, and flexible enough to fit most any course design.
• Core Concepts ▬ Margin notes highlighting basic concepts, strategic management principles, and kernels of wisdom help students by reinforcing key points in the text.
• Extensive use of examples and Illustration Capsules , which accurately portray today’s business world and link theory to practice.